A FIRE on the M4 has caused all the traffic on a stretch of the motorway to come to a standstill.
Emergency services are at the scene on the eastbound carriageway between junctions 18 and 17.
Road Traffic CamerasA vehicle fire has caused traffic on the M4 to come to a standstill[/caption]
Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue and National Highways crews are all at the scene.
Traffic monitoring site Inrix said: “All traffic being temporarily held and stationary traffic due to vehicle fire on M4 in both directions from J18 A46 (Bath / Tormarton) to J17 A350 (Chippenham).”
A diversion on the M4 has been set up.
Road users should follow the route marked with a solid square symbol on local road signs.
There are currently long tailbacks with drivers facing severe delays.
National Highways said earlier this afternoon: “The #M4 in #Wiltshire remains closed eastbound J18 (#Bath #Stroud #A46) and J17 (#Cirencester #A429) due to a vehicle fire.
“There is now over a 75-minute delay on approach to the closure with 6 miles of congestion backing up to J19. Please allow plenty of extra journey time.”
It’s not the only motorway in the south-west which has been experiencing problems.
Drivers on the M5 were also facing delays this afternoon due to a broken-down vehicle which has caused two lanes to be closed on the southbound carriageway.
Traffic monitoring site, Inrix, reported shortly after 1pm: “Two lanes closed and slow traffic due to broken down vehicle on M5 southbound from J18 M49 to J19 A369 Martcombe Road (Portishead).”
Motorists could face up to nearly 10 miles of tailbacks from the Almondsbury Interchange at Junction 16, back to the Gordano Interchange at Junction 19.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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